July 30 (SeeNews) - Croatian fertiliser producer Petrokemija [ZSE:PTKM-R-A] said on Friday its consolidated net profit plummeted to 48 million kuna ($6.3million/ 5.3 million euro) in the first half of 2021, from 237 million kuna in the same period of 2020.
"The results of the group for the first half of 2021 are impacted by higher prices of natural gas, higher price of CO2 emission allowances and lower sales as a result of an overhaul," Petrokemija said in a filing with the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE).
The negative impact of those factors was partly offset by higher sales prices of fertilisers and some measures for improving the efficiency of operations, it added.
The price of natural gas, a key raw material for production of fertilisers, rose 148% on the year in the first half of 2021, while the price of CO2 emission allowances rose 109% on the year, Petrokemija said. Production of fertilisers declined in terms of volume by 38% on the year in the first half.
The company's first-half sales revenue fell 5% on the year to 918 million kuna, as output decreased due to an overhaul of production capacities in the first quarter of 2021,
The cost of raw materials, consumables and other materials was 20% higher year-on-year in the first half of 2021, and totalled 616 million kuna, mostly due to higher prices of natural gas.
Capital expenditure rose to 64 million kuna in the first six months of 2021, from 18 million kuna in the same period of last year.
The company's shares traded 7.14% higher at 52.50 kuna on the Zagreb bourse intraday on Friday.
(1 euro = 7.500 kuna)